The theft of vehicles, and particularly of private cars, is a phenomenon that has generated many different types of vehicle antitheft systems. Among these systems are various types of devices that lock a portion of the vehicle so as to make it undrivable. Among such devices are those mounted internally of the vehicle and arranged to lock the gear lever in a predetermined position so as to prevent an unauthorized person from being able to move the gear lever and thus drive the vehicle.
A disadvantage of internally mounted gear locking devices is that they may be unsightly and a vehicle owner may, therefore, be reluctant to install such a device.
Two representative gear locking devices of the art are U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,085 to Yamaguchi et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,654 to Durigon. Yamaguchi et al. describes a vehicle gear shift lever locking apparatus including a key operated lock mounted on a steering column of a vehicle and for controlling the ignition system thereof, and a safety coupling means coupled between a steering column mounted lock and a remotely mounted shift lever. The coupling means is adapted to prevent movement of the shift lever with the lock in an off position and to allow movement of the lever with the lock in an on position. The apparatus includes a latch mechanism mounted on the steering column and responsive to movement of the lock.
Durigon describes a transmission control locking device adapted to disable the drive train of a motor vehicle. The device includes remotely controllable locking means adapted releasably to lock an actuator member constituted by a transmission gear selector level in a predetermined position when the lever is moved to that position, the predetermined position of the lever with the position of a gear selection that disables the vehicle drive train by the disengagement of the transmission therefrom.
The present applicant discloses in Israel Patent Application 091763, filed Sep. 24, 1989, apparatus for locking a gear assembly of a vehicle which overcomes disadvantages of the above art. The apparatus for locking the gear assembly includes apparatus, mounted beneath the vehicle, for lockably engaging a predetermined portion of the gear assembly. The predetermined portion is preferably a hand operated first, automatic gear selector lever extending partially into the interior of the vehicle. There is also provided a second, automatic gear actuator lever associated directly with the vehicle gearbox and located beneath the vehicle, the first lever being operative to rotate the second lever via an intermediate member hingedly connected to both the first and second levers, thereby to permit selection of a gear from the interior of the vehicle, the apparatus for lockably engaging being operative to lockably engage a predetermined portion of the first lever in a first predetermined position so as to cause the second lever to become locked in a second predetermined position corresponding to the first predetermined position. Apparatus is provided for selectably operating the apparatus for lockably engaging so as to lockably engage the predetermined portion of the gear assembly. Preferably the apparatus for selectably operating includes remotely actuable apparatus.
Alternatively, the predetermined portion is the selector lever for a manual gearbox and has a first portion extending into the interior of the vehicle and a second portion located beneath the vehicle, the apparatus for lockably engaging also including a scissors-like assembly attached to the second end portion of the elongate member and being closable about the second portion of the gear selector lever so as to lock it in a substantially immovable position.